Mengis Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,389 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.85. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.